Performing CPR
by Ampersandre
Summary: While working on getting them home, Steven and the people of Beach city begin building Care Packages for Lars while the Crystal Gems volunteer to be pen pals to the Off-Color Gems. While not every package comes in Lars's best interest (Mayor Dewey, for instance) they nevertheless remind him of what he loved on Earth while giving the Off-Colors more reasons to want to go.
1. Introductions

Care Package 1:

Dear Lars,

The gems, the people of Beach City, and I have been talking and we've come up with a system to make things better for you guys stuck on Homeworld. Peridot has named it C.P.R. because she's been studying acronyms and it's kind of stuck :P

Every week, we're going to send you a care package (that's the C) full of stuff you might need or want. For example, this package contains the following:

A Half Dozen donuts from the Big Donut.

A new hoodie

A gently used dvd player (courtesy of Onion)

Some of your favorite monster movies (courtesy of Sadie)

A picture of everyone that helped put this together

A package of pens and fourteen sheets of paper (more on them later)

Underneath this letter is six smaller letters from pen pals for the Off Color gems (P stands for penpals :3 ). We thought it would help make their transition to earth smoother if they knew some gems in advance. Here's how we broke it down this time, but we can change it in the future.

Amethyst wrote to the Rutiles

Pearl wrote to Padparadscha

Garnet wrote to Rhodonite

And the Barn Gems wrote to Fluorite!

Finally, each of you gets a pen and two pieces of paper to write back to your penpals (R either stands for Response or Report, we're not settled on one just yet.)

You can write back to whoever put the care package the particular week, since the people of Beach City agreed to split up writing to you and building care packages.

We hope that this system can make your time on Homeworld a bit easier. We're also planning a way to get you home, but it's going slow. Lion can't seem to go farther than the moon, and Centipeedle's drop ship is old… and really broken.

Anyway, hang in there buddy!

🌟Steven

Penpals 1:

Yo, Rutile Sisters,

I hear you came out wrong, just like me. I'm an "overcooked" Amethyst, not that that's ever stopped me. Haaaaa~

Pearl is coaching me on how to write in Gem-launguage so my letters should not be the most legible. Sorry about that.

But enough about me. what's your guy's weapon?

-Amethyst

Dear Padparadscha,

I expect you already know all of this, but Steven has chosen me to be your penpal. It's so exciting to build a connection with a new Gem, especially a Sapphire! You must have so many insights to share concerning the future~

I might be getting a bit ahead of myself, but if you know anything about rewiring the internal warp drive of an Era-One Nephrite-class dropship? It would be really helpful if we could utilize your self-fulfilling prophecy ability to get you off Homeworld faster.

As for personal information, I don't have much to share. I served Homeworld until i was swayed by Rose Quartz to join the rebellion and now I mostly raise Steven and perform general cleaning. Pretty typical, I know, but I also practice swordplay and mild engineering.

Feel free to share about yourself in your response letter, so long as you respond to my prior queries as well.

Sincerely,

Pearl

Hello Rhodonite,

Steven tells me you're a fusion.

A Ruby and a Pearl, right?

You know, I'm part Ruby.

And Sapphire.

You may have heard of me.

I was the fusion that destabilized Blue Diamond's attempt to end the rebellion.

So… that's something we can discuss.

How long have you been fused?

And how did you two meet?

Made of Love,

Garnet

Greetings, perma-fusion.

Hi, Fluorite. It's Fluorite, right?

Lapis and I have agreed to be your penpal and to equally share the writing space. To that end I am typing out my segments and letting her fill in in pre-arranged gaps.

Yeah, it's a good thing I naturally have small handwriting. I'm not going to lie, this is kind of a ridiculous system, but I guess it will conserve paper, which Steven tells me is a good thing. So anyways, I'm Lapis. Era one.

I am an Era two Peridot, a righteous Crystal Gem! I spend my days making meep morps, catching up on Camp Pining Hearts and creating life

I sort of just join Peridot in these things. Sometimes I need to be by myself so I take a nap or fly around Beach City or the Ocean. By the way, meep morps are called "art" by humans. Your human Lars should be able to explain it. I have a hard time describing it other than it's things we make to feel good. As for creating life…. We grow earth plants. Next time I might enclose a leaf. Leaves are nice.

As of late, the Crystal Gems have been attempting to repair an abandoned spaceship that we may rescue you. It is slow going, but I am confidant that we will have it space-worthy before long.

Peridot forgot to mention that the humans are helping. They can't do as much as us Gems but they aren't getting in the way either. Steven's dad is especially helpful, providing supplies and transport in his van. I've never been inside of it, but apparently it's cozy.

Steven has directed us to each as you a "personal question" so that we can "get to know you" so here is mine: what are your component gems? Steven has indicated that you have six, so I am curious about their composition.

Hmm, personal question, personal question… what's the smallest space you've ever been inside? As Fluorite, I mean.

Regards,

Peridot 5XG

Later,

Lapis Lazuli

Responses 1:

This is actually a really cool idea. The off colors for the most part liked their donuts (Fluorite told me she can take or leave eating in general). But so far everyone loves the horror movies you sent. The Rutile twins enjoy the adrenaline rush, and it's kind of funny how Pad gasps a minute after every jumpscare. The best part is since the robonoids only respond to gems, we don't have to worry about how loud we are except during random patrols.

How is everyone doing? The Off Colors and I have been doing ok, I've sort of become a shield for them when there's danger. Either I cover their gems when robonoids show up or they cluster inside my head until I give them "the coast is clear" wave. So far, none of the Off Colors have gone to the other island. Too tempting….

Anyway, here are the response letters. Maybe next time send some string or something? A stapler? It'd suck if we lost part of a letter down here.

Lars out

Hello Amethyst

Yes, pleased to meet you

We are the twins of Rutile

We've never seen a quartz gem so small

Not that that's a bad thing

Oh no, I completely agree

After all, it's not the size or shape of a gem that matters

All gems matter

Anyway, our weapon is a chained scythe

Normally, such chains have a weighted end

But ours has two scythe ends

We make it work

What is your weapon?

And what is Earth like?

Lars tells us everyone experiences life there differently

We want to know how a gem that lives there live

We cannot wait to go there

Signed, Rutile

And Rutile

 _Oh my,_

 _I have been blessed with a truly lovely vision! Steven, with the help of the humans and gems of Earth, will send us a shipment of goods from Earth. In addition, the Crystal gems shall write letters to us and we shall respond in kind._

 _Oh! I have been assigned a White-class pearl as a pen pal. I predict that she will ask me questions about Nephrite ship building, which I will be unable to answer as I have never before seen such a craft._

 _Further ahead, I predict she will have a falling out with a human named Greg and eventually fall in love with a Rose Quartz gem. She will survive the war with Homeworld and leave her master._

 _I will be asked to ask her a question, so I shall ask her if her Kindergarten is as spacious ours._

 _Regards,_

 _Padparadscha_

Oh. My. Stars.

It's you! Your story inspired us to fuse in the first place! Ugh, everygem on Homeworld talks about how your Ruby kidnapped your Sapphire like it was some horrible barbaric act but honestly? I can't think of anything more romantic than being spirited away by the gem you love!

We've been fused like this for about sixty Homeworld years (Lars tells me your years are longer but your days are more than three times shorter. Talk about inconvenient!) but we were assigned to Morganite at the same time some one hundred and fifty Homeworld years ago. Let me tell you, those first ninety years were tense! In public my Ruby had to bee all gruff and tough and my Pearl had to be seen but not heard, but when we were alone we would just spill our dust on each other. We were young and didn't feel like we "fit" our gem castes so when we fused everything just seemed to click. I mean we have to run and hide from danger on all sides but we feel complete now. Warm, and solid.

Anyway, I wanna hear your story from your perspective. You've been together for thousands of years, right? What's it like after all that time?

Sincerely,

Rhondonite

Hello Peridot and Lapis,

It's nice knowing that gems like you two can adapt to life on Earth. Lars has told me about Earth art and I cannot wait to see what you two have made.

I am made of three Peridots ( though there may be room for one more ) ), a Sapphire, a pearl, and an natural Ametrine. As for tight spaces, fitting inside Lars's hair can be difficult. Sometimes we have to unfuse and refuse once inside of him. It's all quite stressful, but not as stressful as trying to hide the conventional way.

Why are you two called the Barn Gems? And how is that different than being a Crystal gem?

Well wishes,

FLUORITE.


	2. Origin Stories

Dear Lars,

We're all doing fine, more or less. I forgot to mention in the first package letter that we plan to cycle through who makes the care packages. You're more popular than you realize! :D

I'll let your Mom and Dad take it from here

*Steven

Hi Sweetheart!

Steven filled us in on what's going on, you had us worried when you left one night and never came back. We assumed you joined a gang but Steven assured us that you're staying with responsible women while stuck on an alien planet.

He told us a lot of other things that made building this care package easier. For one, we made an ube roll and cut it into single-serve portions so it could fit in the tupperware. Steven told us you were going to show off your baking to your friends and while this isn't quite the same thing I'm sure your space friends will still be impressed.

Also, Steven told me your friends never age and don't know what babies are. So we sent your baby photos. We even sent the one of your first big-boy bath! By the time your mother got the camera, you figured out how to uncork the drain. You always were a handful!

Finally, since you probably haven't been taking very good care of yourself, we sent you a backpack of toiletries. Remember: brush in the morning to keep your friends, brush at night to keep your teeth!

Alright Lars, we're gonna let Steven take the package!

We love you!

Mom and Dad

Heyo, Double Ru,

It's so awesome that you use a chain scythe! I'm a whip gem, myself. I bet you and I could lean a lot of new tricks from each other. Maybe some new prank ideas too. And the Earth is an incredible place, it's the only home I've ever known. Anyone can be anything and things are always changing. And there's food! Hey, before I forget, Peridot told me that gems have casts based on what they are made of, like how all Quartzes are soldiers. What do rutiles do in that system?

-Amethyst

Dear Padparadscha,

Steven updated me about your condition. I should have known that the only way a Sapphire would be outcasted by the Diamonds is if her future vision was defective. But by many standards I too am defective, so I will not judge you.

Your vision is true, however. But unfortunately Rose Quartz is gone now and only Steven remains. But I love Steven (in a different way than Rose) and I've even made up with Greg, so all is well.

Also, we don't live in a Kindergarten. We actually live in a hand-crafted Earth structure built into a temple that the Crystal Gems claimed when the Diamonds abandoned Earth. Most of the structures on earth are made of a natural product called wood. I wouldn't say it's more spacious, but it is more comfortable than any Kindergarten I've been to. Humans have a word for such places: it's homey.

So, how did you wind up with the other Off-colored gems? I'm guessing they found you and not the other way around. How long did it take them?

Sincerely

Pearl

Rhondonite,

I hope that finding out that my Sapphire was the one who spirited Ruby away doesn't spoil the romance of the story. She was going to be shattered for saving Sapphire from the course of fate. They joined the Crystal gems, and on that day they vowed to unfuse as rarely as possible. And that's how I was made. After all this time, all that has changed is how close we feel. I hardly think about being Ruby and Sapphire unless a situation arises where I need to think of them. I normally visualize myself as just me, just Garnet. Steven told me that you were discovered by your Morganite, I'd be interested in hearing how that story played out.

Made of Love,

Garnet

Greetings, Fluorite

Hello again

As, erm, tempting as your offer is, I feel a fusion with more than one gem at a time may overwhelm me. I am still gearing up to fuse for the first time. Fusion in general has been rather challenging for me.

Yeah, part of that is probably my fault. We've been trying to fuse, but it's never been quite right. I… had a bad experience with fusion, and I don't think I'll ever comfortably fuse. Peridot always tells me it's ok, but… I don't know. Sometimes it makes me feel like I'm missing out on something.

The title "Barn Gem" merely designates our place of residence. We are technically Crystal Gems, however we do not share the temple with our fellow gems.

A barn is something humans make for animals and machinery, now we live in one. It's pretty big, but it might get crowded if you all come to live here. Steven's been talking about setting up this tower near his house for you. It's called a lighthouse. It's pretty cool, I guess.

Adapting to Earth wasn't all that difficult, once I studied the ways of this planet in-depth. I will share some of my finding with you briefly: humans do not fly, it is not safe to run with pizza,and Earth Rides have strict height minimums.

The only advice I can give you is this: don't "borrow" the entire ocean. Humans don't like it when you take their stuff. And uh, don't worry if you don't adapt right away. Knowing me, I'll be suspicious if you DO take to Earth Culture easily.

For this week's inquiry, I would like to know how your Ametrine survived the journey from Earth to Homeworld without being shattered. As I understand it, natural ametrines were always considered off-color.

And how long have you all been together? I'm guessing you started with one or two smaller groups and added gems over time, right? You couldn't have ALL decided at once to fuse, right? R-right?

Regards,

Peridot 5XG

Later,

Lapis Lazuli

Aw jeez, you guys… did you really have to send the bath picture? Now left Rutile is asking me all these questions, and Rhodonite is scared of encountering "larval humans". How do you explain to an immortal alien that babies don't bite or have venomous stingers?

On the other hand, the ube roll was really good. And thank for the other stuff, I'll try to use it when I can, but Homeworld has very little water. I should probably tell you that I became some kind of magic zombie, so I don't need to eat or drink. But little snacks are nice.

Anyway, I miss you both more than I can say. You really don't know what you've got until it's gone. And Steven? Thanks again for doing this. But you forgot my stapler.

Lars out

Hello again Amethyst,

We hope this day finds you well

What a coincidence, that we both use rope-based weapons!

We'd be happy to show you what we know

Once we make our way to Earth

All good things in time

Yes, all good things

Rutiles are grown in bulk

We are technically soldiers, like quartzes

But our caste is meant to fight enemies from within

We are the Diamond's secret police.

Well, not us specifically

We never served the authority

Still, as the de facto leaders of the Off-Colors

It's hard not to feel controlling

Anyway, Earth sounds lovely

But there are things about it that we still do not understand

Why are humans so different from us?

What is a "prank"?

Why do you address us using different titles?

Signed, Rutile

And Rutile

Dear Pearl,

I have had a fine vision that you and Greg will patch up your relationship and he shall build a human domicile out of an Earth product called wood. This will attach to the temple that Rose will reclaim from Homeworld. The environment will greatly suit the raising of a half-human child such as Steven

Oh dear, it appears Steven can only exist of Rose Quartz gives up her physical form. The vision I have of her doing this is horrific, with her physical form melting away around Steven while you, Greg, and the other Crystal Gems look on in horror. Your only solace shall be the infant Steven, who looks much like the "photograph" of human Lars partaking in the ritual of bath time. Except Steven will be sad, perhaps because he misses his mother.

Meanwhile, I will be found by the twins of Rutile by way of intercepting a transport ship bound for…. I dare not say it's name. My defect as a Sapphire will be found rather late, but after making a late and even incorrect vision it will be determined that I cannot be reconditioned and I will be slated for harvesting along with other gems guilty of incompetence. However, the Rutiles will successfully attempt to rescue me, as I am smaller than the other gems and I can fit through the vents.

I sense that you will find a human woman similar to your lost Rose Quartz. She will give you a code of Earth communication. Do you intend to respond to her advance?

Regards,

Padparadscha

Dear Garnet,

Aaaaaah that makes the story even better! You two basically saved each other that is soooooo cute! Our story is, well, a little less glamorous… Morganite was hosting a surprise tour of her tower, everygem from sapphires to zircons to- well, that's not important. What is important is she didn't tell us. We had fusedd a couple of times before, but always while she was out. We panicked, forgot to fuse, and the rest is history! We're luckey we made it out of there in one piece…metaphorically speaking. I'm still trying to get used to being a single being. Crazy, right? Lars tells me that humans in relationships as old as our get applause, they're so rare! Do humans cheer for you when you tell them how long you've been fused? You must be quite a celebrity there!

Sincerely,

Rhodonite

Hello again Peridot and Lapis,

Before I answer your questions I must tell you: fusion isn't for everygem. Some simply cannot make themselves comfortable enough to do it. If you wish to continue trying, you may succeed. Just know you are no more, or less of a gem for fusing.

Now, for your questions. Our first fusion was the three Peridots, who often had to fuse for Kindergarten maintenance. We were already growing… sentimental, when we met our Ametrine.

We sympathized with each other, which led to us not reporting each other, and trying to find a way to be free. She could pass for an Amethyst, long enough to get her off of Earth. But the four of us were discovered, and to escape we fused. We fled to Homeworld's Kindergarten. And as good as fusing was, fusing between gem. types felt woooooondeeeeerful.

Five hundred years later, we met our Pearl and our Sapphire. They had fused once in public. It was an accident… or so they thought. Eventually, they tried fusing, and some time later we all fused. That was… about two thousand years before we found Rutile, and the others came to us over time.

But that's a story for another day. What made you two decide to live on Earth?

Well wishes,

FLUORITE


	3. Wherever You Are

Dear Lars,

This week's care package is brought to you byyyyyyyyy Sadie! :3 the queue to make and send care packages is getting sooo long, it's going to be a month before I send you another package. Hopefully by then we'll have a breakthrough on the ship.

*Steven

Hey Lars,

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I should be furious at how you ran away when I needed help. I should be furious that you can't come in to work anymore and I'm basically running the Big Donut by myself until you get back. I could even be furious that the entire now is gearing up for some kind of alien war. But no, I'm not furious…. I'm just afraid I'll never see you again.

So, I sent you some new gauges. It'd suck if your holes closed up, wouldn't it? Hope you don't mind that they're lavender. And Steven told me to add a stapler, so there's that. I also put one of my old bears in, and a few bags of chips and a two huge bottles of water. Your last letter said something about a water shortage on Homeworld. Good thing our island adventure prepared us for this!

H-hey, that gave me an idea for one more thing to put in. Remember the necklaces we made there? Here's yours, I hope it brings back more good memories than bad ones.

Your Player Two,

Sadie

Dear Left Brix and Right Brix,

Those "different titles" are nicknames, they're something I do all of the time. For example, this time I compared you two to a kind of candy that gets sold in pairs, where the joke is that there's an argument over which "side" is better. That gives me a good idea for a question: do you guys ever argue about which "half" of you is better?

Anyway, about humans… they're like, organic life, I guess you would call them? There are less different kinds of humans but to balance it out every human is different. Take Steven and his Dad, for instance. They're both guys, and they both like music and eating, but Greg is messier and Steven's a bit braver. Now imagine those little similarities across billions of humans. It's crazy!

Oh, and a prank is- well, it's easier and cooler to explain how to do one than to explain what they are. I slipped a can into Donut Girl's package, it says "Salted Nuts". Don't. Open. It. Give it to someone else and tell them you couldn't get the lid off yourself. Be sure to tell me how hilarious it is.

-Amethyst

Dear Padparadscha,

Oh my, you're certainly- upfront, about your interest in my personal life. I will admit, I have been avoiding actually calling her. I like to tell myself that i'm too busy with my own business as a gem, but the truth is…. I think I'm intimidated by humans.

On a certain level, I know that what happened with Greg and Rose won't happen with me. That was her choice, and I can choose not to have a human gem hybrid. But… I have seen how her other interactions with human men have gone, I don't know if I could handle watching a human I've grown attached to aging and dying. I've had that panic with Steven already, it hurts.

Still, it's been awhile… do you think I should call her? It feels so strange, asking you for advice on this. I could ask Garnet for advice and she could tell me every possible outcome, but… maybe your hindsight will catch something I've missed. Either way, I suppose it can't hurt to ask.

Sincerely

Pearl

Rhodonite,

I don't really interact with humans much outside of occasional steven-fueled interactions. I don't get a lot of compliments on being a fusion because most humans don't know anything about gems or fusion. In hindsight, that might be our fault, but after the war it was agreed that the less humans know about gems, the better. They go about their lives, blind to the oblivion that Homeworld attempted to unleash on their world. I'm sure Lars has been telling you a lot about human culture, you might even know more than me at this point. After all, I barely knew a thing about Lars before he and Steven were taken by Homeworld's forces. I mean, Steven would talk about him and occasionally we would cross paths, but that's has been telling us about his… transformation. I'm curious as to what powers he is manifesting.

Made of Love,

Garnet

Greetings Fluorite

Hi.

I really hope you appreciate what we're doing for you. I spent forty-two hours cannibalizing a "car" for a "battery" since many of the Era one power filaments are surprisingly compatible with current Earth Technology. Long story short, I was smashed by the "hood" component.

I pulled her out and she finally allowed Greg to help us. Peridot is kind of… proud, when it comes to technology. Ship building is slow, and we've been trying other alternatives. Steven's Lion can't go farther than the moon, so that plan is out. The Galaxy warp can't be fixed. We're doing everything we can.

Anyway, my story on Earth began with a humble assignment to check on the final stages of The Cluster. One thing led to another, and I was trapped on Earth with a very limited amount of time before the cluster was set to emerge. Out of self-preservation, I agreed to aid the Crystal Gems in stopping its emergence.

My story started a bit… earlier. I was caught up in the War on Earth and my Gem was put in a mirror for thousands of years, and for most of them my gem was cracked. Then the minute I get out the Crystal gems started chasing me and I sort of kidnapped the ocean to try and get to Homeworld. Then Steven healed my gem and I flew all the way to Homeworld that's where my problems really began. I was assigned as an informant to Peridot and Jasper. Jasper was my first, and probably only, fusion.

In time, I began to observe the positive aspects of Earth life. I had to convince the Diamonds to spare the Earth, both for resources and to preserve the specimens of Earth life. It turned out that Yellow Diamond was… NOT the Supreme Being I thought she was. I joined the Crystal gems and never looked back.

Jasper and I fought for control of a fusion named Malachite. It was cruel. It was chaotic. It was cathartic. When we were finally forced apart, I wanted to flee, before I felt trapped somewhere else. But then Steven showed me the Earth! It was so many new things and I realized in all my time of being on Earth I never saw any of it for myself. Plus I don't think Blue Diamond will take me back, so that makes me a Crystal Gem, I guess.

Regardless, my inquiry this week is how you know which gems to fuse with. Did you try fusing with the other off colors and it didn't take, or was it something that never crossed your mind?

Enclosed is a leaf. I have been collecting them to make a series of morps. Steven tells me that this leaf comes from something called a Rose bush. I wonder, are Rose Quartz gems named for the plant, or is the plant named after Rose Quartz. Which do you think it was?

Regards,

Peridot 5XG

Later,

Lapis Lazuli

It's great to hear from you Sadie. Lavender is fine, it weirdly matches me now. I'm starting to get the sense that Steven isn't telling people that I've been turned into a pink zombie… now that I think about it, that would just make people more worried about me, wouldn't it? You guys don't have to send food and water every time, I'm not starving or dying of thirst. On the plus side, it turns out Fluorite really likes salty food. Weird, huh?

You know, I was actually thinking about that time on the island. I'm just as homesick as I was then, but I'm not freaking out like I was. Maybe because I have the Off Colors to talk to, or these Care Packages… maybe because I've matured more in three weeks on Homeworld than I have my entire life.

I bet you're laughing right now, but it's true. I've had to get between Pad and robonoids at least three times since we've met, I've had LOOOOOOONG talks with the Rutiles about our insecurities, I even told Fluorite about- well, us I guess. I tried to tell her that humans can't fuse and she said, word for word, " Well at least tell her you love her in your response." so um…. I guess that's done. And now Rhodonite is telling me I'm turning more pink. Great...

I'm really sorry that I left you behind. I used to be such a coward, huh? I promise you, as soon as I get home I'll show you how much I've changed. I hope I still have whatever made you put up with me in the first place.

Lars out.

Hello Amethyst,

It is interesting you mentioned our halves arguing superiority, it is something Lars speaks to us about often

You see, I am a branch off of my Twin's gem. She is complete. I…. Am not

Sister (Lars taught us this human nickname), I'm sure Amethyst sees you as a complete gem.

But I am not. If I was not attached to you, you would be a perfect Rutile.

But I am attached to you. We are who we are because we are attached.

It's not fair to you

Perhaps we should move on…

Yes. I can feel myself spiralling.

Oh! Our prank!

We gave the can of peanuts to Padparadscha

Once she realized it was an Earth Snack, she effortlessly opened it

Rhodonite and Lars yelped in surprise

But the best reaction was Padparadscha

Yes! Her smile faded slowly into confusion and she said

"Oh, it was not a snack."

It was quite amusing

Yes, your Earth ways amuse us greatly

Please teach us another prank

Signed, Rutile

And Rutile

Dear Pearl,

I foresee that you will have reservations about contacting the human woman. And you will ask for my opinion. As you know, my visions are imperfect, but I will inform my advice based on them

I predict that you will feel a great emptiness in your existence as a result of losing Rose Quartz You will attempt to fill this void with raising Steven, throwing yourself at missions, and fusion with other gems. But none of these things will fully replace her. I interpret this as a sign that you should find out what it was about Rose that you cannot exist without.

This will be difficult, but I suggest you call the human woman and arrange a visit of sorts. Study her, observe what she has in common with Rose Quartz, and furthermore what differences she has. Hopefully this exercise will at least tell you more about yourself.

Now I have a question for you. Lars is teaching us about Earth life but there is one place where words seem to fail him. From my limited visions and his descriptions I can tell it is a wonderland of machinery and snacks, but I cannot fully visualize it. Tell me, what is a "Boardwalk"?

Regards,

Padparadscha

Dear Garnet,

To be completely honest with you, we haven't noticed many powers from Lars other than his head space power. Though I gotta say, it's nice to see that it's not just Pearls holding stuff inside of themselves! I dunno, if we had some kind of list of powers to look out for that might make things less stressful. It'd be a shock if one day Lars turned invisible and we couldn't make him reappear for two weeks! On the subject of learning new things, there's a LOOOOOOOT that Lars doesn't know about gems. You wanna know how he learned about fusion? Lars was teaching us about "sleep" and I did it and I woke up unfused! We were flustered enough already without having to explain who we were and what was happening. Then there was summoning gem weapons, how warp pads work, gem designations, the list goes on and on! To be fair, there's so much we don't know about Earth, and Lars can't exactly show us what he's talking about. Like that "Lion" thing you mentioned, I asked Lars about it and he said that it's a large , dangerous animal, but I don't even know what an animal looks like, let alone a dangerous one! We should make some sort of effort to educate humans on gem culture and technology and to educate gems on human culture and technology. It would clear up all this confusion! By the way, how do you know if an object is a "prank"? The Rutile twins unleashed one today and even though it didn't hurt anyone I don't want giant tubes to explode out of the next Earth container I open!

Sincerely

Rhodonite

Dear Lapis and Peridot,

It sounds like your roads to living on Earth were long and full of strife. I hope our journey to Earth is relatively short and smooth. But something deep inside tells me that our journey will be perilous indeed.

Finding a partner to fuse with is not an exact science. I did not fuse with the Rutiles because, well… Left Rutile doesn't seem to like fusion. Their condition of being two conscious beings sharing a gem complicates things. As for Padparadscha, she is a nice gem, but her powers would slow my already delayed speech to an UNBEAAAAAAAARAAAAAABLE CRAAAAAAAAAAWL. It's not her, it's me.

I can't tell you what to look for in fusion. I suspect it changes from gem to gem. It helps to not look at fusion as a method to fix your own flaws but a chance to build something greater than yourself with someone else.

Thank you for the leaf, Lapis. I have very foggy memories of Earth foliage, but I believe the flower was the origin of the gem type. It is a very old human word, and Pink Diamond had an interest in preserving Earth's flora and fauna however she could. It makes me so happy that the Earth was not destroyed, though I must ask how the Earth was spared. We all heard the stories of the Diamond attack. It seems impossible.

Well wishes,

FLUORITE


	4. Important (Yet Dissapointing) Update

Dear Everyone,

Unfortunately, due to several circumstances, I do not have an update this week. For starters, I had this idea of making chapter 4 a fanart demonstration to give the story more realism and to act as a shout out for Tumblr Artists. However, a combination of nerves and outside issues led to me not asking any artists yet and now I'm stuck in limbo where I am not sure if I should continue on with my original concept or try something else. If you guys have any advice, please let me know.

Meanwhile, my roommate has been having some serious trouble since they came out to their mother as trans. Like "I will never let you see your siblings again" kind of trouble. I Have decided to handle it by posting a rant on Tumblr and Twitter (which, btw, twitter is the WORST). If you guys could signal boost them here

and here

/hashtag/DearTalinaMillier?src=hash

that would also help me a ton.

Again, I am really sorry for delaying chapter 4. I really hate that I am stalling out on this but I need to make sure the world of C.P.R. and my own world are stable before continuing the plot. I promise that whatever it winds up being it will be worth the wait. I love you all, and I'll see you next week,

-Ampersandre


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